When one goes to a theatrical production at Sacred Heart, they are, of course, amazed by the actors and the music — but an underrated part of that “wow factor” is the way a great set transports the audience directly into the world of the production before the actors even step on stage. The audience sees the performers on stage, but what they don’t see is the weeks of hard work that go on behind the scenes to create and design the sets. Technical Director of Performing Arts Mr. Fred Eiras, or “Mr. E” as most students call him, is the joyful mastermind behind Sacred Heart’s set design and technical theater program.
Mr. E has been working at SHP since 2017, but his passion for set design began much earlier than that. He started working in set production and design when he was 10 years old, and this year marks his 50th year of doing what he loves.
When Mr. E was in middle school, his older brother went to Riordan High School in San Francisco and would bring him to help build sets on the weekends. There, he met his mentor, Ken Barbieri, who was the drama teacher and director. He continued to work in tech theater at Riordan through middle school and then high school. After Riordan, Mr. E worked at Mercy High School in San Francisco for 10 years, while attending San Francisco State University.
Before SHP, Mr. E also worked in community theater, doing both design and technical directing. He worked with many local community theaters, including Hillbarn Theater, Pacifica Spindrift Players, Peninsula Center Stage, and Palo Alto Players.
One exciting moment in his career was an opportunity to work on a traveling Broadway show. Mr. E was living in a small town in Kentucky when a touring company of Broadway’s “A Christmas Story” arrived with an unpainted set. Mr. E says he was “the only scenic artist in the small town” and so he got to spend two weeks painting sets with Tony and Emmy-nominated Broadway set designer Michael Carnahan. He “had a lot of fun.”
Mr. E now oversees the design and construction of the sets for every SHS show, from the middle school productions to Prep musicals to even Play in a Day.
When it comes to set design, Mr. E’s favorite part is the collaboration involved. He says he really enjoys “getting inside a director’s head and getting to know what their wants are and their desires for their production,” emphasizing that “it is all about the artist” and “the vision of the director.” Mr. E has the power to bring the director’s vision to life through his sets, so his motto has always been “find out what the director wants and give them plenty of it.”
Aside from after-school performances, Mr. E also teaches the Technical Theater (Design & Construction) class. When the class first started in 2020, it had only seven students, but it has grown over the years, with classes now averaging 20-22 students. He now also offers a summer course that has become so popular that they had to cap the number of students who are able to enroll. In addition to learning the ins and outs of technical theater and designing their own personal models and sets, students in Mr. E’s class also gain hands-on experience through helping build the sets for all of the school productions.
Mr. E gives every student he works with a fun and rewarding experience through his commitment and compassion. David Edelman ‘26 said that his experience taking Mr. E’s tech theater class his junior year was incredible because “he was always kind and sympathetic to every student” and “truly focused on allowing each student to act independently and to grow.” Mr. E’s love and care for his students shines through his every action, from signing off every email with “God bless you,” to bringing donuts on Thursday mornings, and even buying extra closed-toe shoes so every student is safe.
“The way he treats his students is really unique. He always feels like he has this light air about him,” says Avery Darnell ‘28, who has worked with Mr. E on tech crew for productions since she was in 6th grade.
This sentiment is echoed by Charlie McDonald ‘26, who has been in his class all four years at the Prep and describes Mr. E as “one of the coolest, kindest, and generally best teachers [she’s] ever had.”
Rei Hatoyama ‘27 says that a big part of the program and productions’ success is his passion. She describes the immense “time and effort” that he puts in “24/7, on the holidays, on the weekends, [and] after school” outside his class. “He never failed to awe me,” says Edelman, describing Mr. E’s work ethic and efficiency.
Most sets take about a month and a half of work, both in class and out of class. One of the most elaborate shows Mr. E has done was Clue in spring 2025, which included multiple rooms that slid in and out of the walls. He says that it was a “big undertaking,” but they had “a lot of fun,” especially because he was able to “assign certain students to certain rooms” and give students some “ownership” over their hard work.
Mr. E’s Technical Theater (Design & Construction) class stands out from other classes at the Prep. It is ever-changing, breaking up the monotony of the school day and teaching students “practical and real-life skills” along with creative art skills, says Hatoyama. She described the class as “intricate and interactive” and said that the things she learned even came in handy over the summer when she built a new bed without any help. Beyond being a fun art class, Mr. E’s tech-theater program prepares students for future careers like architecture, design, or construction.
Mr. E’s dedication to his students and his art form is only rivaled by his joy. McDonald notes that in “every interaction, without fail, he shows so much care and personality” and encourages everyone to have even a “single conversation with him [and] see for yourself how awesome he is.”
